A/N: Lots of laughs ahead! The Fellowship sets off!
She checked over her supplies for the third and final time, pale slender fingers moving restlessly over the various items which she had packed into the bag the elves had thoughtfully given her. Pushing one dark strand of hair out of her eyes, she rolled her beige blanket in a tight roll, securing it with several loops of sturdy twine that would no doubt come in handy during the Quest. Her personal items weren't that large; considering she had left everything she knew behind her, she was traveling quite light. Several spare tunics, plenty of new leggings, a thick, warm cloak for cold weather, and lots of socks. She had never been hiking in her life, but if the book was anything to go by, the Fellowship would be doing a lot of walking. Isabella had never been particularly enthused about physical activities - she much preferred to spend her time beating hapless chess prodigies on the computer relentlessly. Isabella slung her bag over her shoulder, the heavy weight causing her to tilt slightly to the side, ensuring that the weight would be counterbalanced. Her crystal blue eyes flickered briefly as she gazed at the room; it was sparse, yet beautiful, with wide windows to let in solid blocks of light. A slight thread of emotion jabbed at her when she realized she might never see this room again. And then the moment passed.
She had no time for frivolities.
Isabella met Michael in the hallway. He had a relaxed, causal air about him, as if going on a life-threatening Quest with fictional characters was something he did every day of his life. His hair, as usual, was standing straight up in perfect black spikes. He was still weaving his fingers through his hair, spiking it up further still, when he caught sight of Isabella. That lightning grin flickered up the side of his face, and then it was gone again, leaving nothing behind but the ghost of self-importance. "Hey, Bella," he greeted. Her blue eyes narrowed when she took in his heavy traveling bag. It too was slung over his shoulder, but the weight didn't seem to be affecting him at all. Isabella cursed him for his lithe muscles and the ability to carry a heavy bag without buckling under the weight. Instead, she awarded him a sharp-tongued reply.
"Don't call me Bella." she snapped frostily. "I despise nicknames. They are uncouth, banal, and display a remarkable lack of respect. My name is Isabella, and I will thank you to refer to me as such."
"Yowch! Is it winter already?" Michael said, that sassy smile twitching the corner of his mouth again. "All right, Isabella. I've never been real big on full names. Short 'n' simple is my motto."
"And yet neither applies to you," Isabella remarked dryly. "Have you seen the others?" At Michael's shaken head, she rolled her eyes. "Honestly. Lord Elrond put us all in one building so that we may see each other on a regular basis. You have all been avoiding me, I am sure of it."
"We've been avoiding you?" Piped up a voice behind them. "More like you've been avoiding us! Where have you guys been?" Turning, Michael and Isabella saw Melody and Madison making their way down the hall. "Daphne's been looking all over for you. What have you guys been doing?"
Isabella looked briefly at Madison, and then gave a sharp, warning glance to Melody. "Still haven't found your pyrite yet, Madison?" Isabella asked pointedly. At Isabella's probing glance, Melody flushed scarlet. Madison chewed her bottom lip worriedly and toyed with the hem of her sleeve.
"No...I'm beginning to think someone took it by accident. I mean, it was right on my bedside table when I left. It's so weird," Madison sighed. "I really wanted that. It's special."
"Pyrite is special?" Isabella snorted. "Hardly. It's called false gold for a reason, Madison." The bushy-haired girl looked up and shook her head, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.
"No, not that. I mean, it's special because of it's relevant significance," Madison said. "My father gave it to me."
Melody was fuming internally. How dare that little brat look at her so harshly! Melody had taken a few trifles from the elves, nothing they wouldn't miss, but she hadn't laid a finger on any of Madison's things. Judging by the sound of it, the pyrite wasn't really worth stealing anyway. She would have pulled Isabella aside and said several withering remarks, had not a burst of tinkling laughter interrupted all of their thoughts. Identical expressions of disgust were scrawled on their faces as Adavis came floating down the hallway, the hem of her gown trailing on the floor. Her raven-colored curls were cascading in a gentle ripple down her back, loose curls framing her face prettily, and her eyes were the color of brilliant opals. Despite Adavis's elvish senses, she couldn't hear Melody grinding her molars slowly as the Sue approached them with another silvery laugh.
"My dear little friends! How good to see you again!" Adavis cooed, waving her hand as one does at little children. She smoothed the front of her dress, dark lashes lowering modestly as they were able to take in the magnificent plum-colored dress. Deeply cut in the neckline, it gave the barest hint of ample cleavage and exposed miles of creamy shoulders and back. It was risqué without being smutty, and Melody was even more annoyed that the Sue had dressed modestly ... for a Sue, at any rate. Melody was beautiful, but even she didn't have the curves to pull off a dress like that. It would take five years of slow starvation and three lifetimes at a gym to do any decency to that gown. Adavis looked around the group. "But where is that little girl whom I so adore?"
"You mean Daphne?" Madison asked stupidly, wondering how even a Sue could refer to Daphne as a 'little girl'. "She's, um, somewhere, I think." Adavis purred coquettishly, lashes batting again, exposing her perfect cerulean eyes.
"Oh, what a shame...I sincerely wished to see her again..." Adavis flowed down the hall before them like an elegant stream, the hem of her gown trailing behind her. "She had such the most interesting insults! 'Squash-faced rat', indeed. I shall have to learn a few of them!" She giggled annoyingly again, and pushed on the ajar door to make her way outside into the sunshine.
A bucket of water had been perched precariously on the lip of the doorway, and Adavis's sudden movement sent it crashing down onto the Sue. Instantly, she was drenched with water, soaking her wet curls and sticking them to her neck, the purple silk soaking up the water like a sponge. Melody chuckled nastily. She could hear the silk staining. Adavis looked utterly astonished for a moment, and then shrieked aloud, perfect scream of terror ripping through the heavens.
"THIS DRESS IS RUINED!" She squealed, burying her face in her hands. Sobs racked her slender body as she collapsed onto a bench with a wet squish. The Authors piled outside onto the patio, and they saw Daphne sitting leisurely on a chair, sipping tear. Her nose was buried in a book, and she looked up interestedly as Adavis cried.
"Oh, good morning," Daphne said absently. She turned innocently to Adavis, one eyebrow cocked. "Did you take a shower in your clothes?"
"Why, you little witch!" Adavis hissed. "You...you ruined my best dress!" Her hands snapped to claws as she snarled at Daphne, who seemed very amused.
"No, I didn't." She frowned at the bucket which was lying on the ground. "You know, Adavis, you really shouldn't leave stuff like this lying around." Daphne got up with a sigh and picked up the bucket.
"Someone could trip." Daphne winked slightly at Madison, and the girl burst into muffled laughter. Adavis was livid.
"Someone could - trip?" Adavis said in a choked voice, hands wringing an invisible neck as she mentally pretended to strangle Daphne. "How dare you - you little brat!"
"Now, Adavis," Michael said soothingly, trying in vain to stifle the laughter that was bubbling from his chest. "Daphne didn't mean nothin'. Did you, Daffy?" he asked. Daphne looked up from her seat, completely unconcerned.
"I have no idea what your talking about." Daphne said firmly. "Why Adavis wants to dump random buckets of water on herself, I have no idea."
Adavis flounced off before she did something she would later regret, like choking Daphne or something equally hideous. She left behind a trail of droplets, the stained silk gown rustling as she sped away to change. There was a long silence for one beat. Then two. And then everybody lost it. Melody was howling with laughter, holding her sides as she leaned on the balcony; Michael was slapping the table, dark eyes squinting as he roared with laughter. Maddie slid down the wall to the ground, tiny body shaking with bursts of laughter as they all laughed until they cried. Even Isabella laughed slightly, a few dry chuckles that enticed everyone to laugh harder. When it wound down to sporadic giggles, Melody looked up, wiping a tear from her eye. "Daphne, that was genius." Melody gasped.
Daphne's wicked grin flashed in the sunlight. "Oh, I know."
09
Tolkien checked his watch for the fourth time that morning. "Where the devil have those children got to?" he demanded of thin air. "I know they come from a different dimension and all that rot, but this is ridiculous." Gandalf laid a soothing hand on his arm, patting him gently. The entire Fellowship was assembled, shuffling their feet impatiently as they waited for the Authors to get here. There came another shout of laughter from around the bend, and the Authors scrambled to their places, still laughing. All of their bags were promptly loaded onto Bill, the pony, with the exception of a large leather bag which Madison carried. It held a thick book in which the Authors would write their story, along with several bottles of ink, several large quills, and a few sheets of loose paper.
"Hi!" Daphne said cheerily, her recent prank still lighting her face. "So are we ready to leave?"
"We are all assembled save for Lady Adavis," Legolas said, blue eyes narrowing with sarcasm as he answered Daphne. "We would not want to leave without her most lovely presence, now would we?"
"I would love to," Melody muttered, and the Authors exploded again. "Can't we just leave her here?" Melody pleaded. Tolkien sighed deeply, pinching another wad of tobacco into the bowl of his pipe.
"I'm afraid not, my dear girl. We must bring her with us for your story to work. By the way, do you have the book?" he asked. Madison patted her leather backpack with a little smile.
"Right here." She said. "Along with a few other items in which I thought might prove useful." Tolkien gave an appreciative nod.
"Excellent. You do realize that I cannot help you write your story in any way? I can tell you as much as you wish about the history of Middle Earth, and give you a bit of a story to go by, but other than that the work must be done entirely by yourself." Tolkien said. Daphne scowled.
"Dang. I was hoping you could give us some tips and stuff. After all, it's your story." Daphne said. Tolkien smiled.
"I'm afraid not. Even my story has rules." Tolkien said. Before he could get any farther, Adavis came around the corner. She had changed into a 'traveling gown' which still looked amazing on her flawless hourglass figure. Her dark hair had been pulled into a simple plait to mask the wetness, but not even her perfect beauty could hide the poisonous look she shot to Daphne. The blonde wiggled her fingers at her in a pitying way.
Tolkien stifled a chuckle. This was going to be a very amusing trip.